Why Draw Something Blew Up, but Might Fade Fast

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OMGPOP can't get lazy now.

By Justin Davis

Thirty-five million downloads. Over two billion pictures. Millions of dollars in revenue. Draw Something is officially the hottest video game out there. While these numbers are impressive, the truly unbelievable thing is just how fast it all happened. Draw Something launched on February 1 – not even two months ago.

Some attribute the game's meteoric rise to pure happenstance – that random roll of the App Store dice. Developers may be able to increase their odds of success by making a polished product, but often App Store hits and misses come off as inscrutable.

The truth is virtually every element of Draw Something was perfectly engineered to turn the game into a massive hit. But have many of those same design decisions also doomed the game to have a short shelf life? Let's take a look. Below are seven specific reasons Draw Something turned into a nationwide phenomenon so rapidly, and three reasons why it might fade from the limelight just as quickly.

Why Draw Something Blew Up

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The Draw Something team has been quick to add more words, including plenty that will be far less relevant even a few months from now. Right now several Hunger Games nouns are in the word pool including Peeta and Haymitch. Expect them to be replaced, perhaps with Dark Knight Rises or Avengers terms, in the months ahead. Draw Something keeps itself relevant.

Sharing Pictures is Social

Draw Something spread itself virally in a way that games like Words with Friends and Scramble with Friends didn't, because everyone is motivated to snap a picture of their most "Drawesome" creations & share them across their social circles. I'm far more likely to tweet out my awesome Gandalf sketch than my devilish use of the word "Qi" in a heated round of Words With Friends.

Cooperative Multiplayer Feels Good

In Draw Something, you're trying to help the player on the other end, not compete with them. It feels good! I'm motivated to work a little harder at improving my terrible drawing, because my parter and I both succeed and earn coins if they stick with it and get it right. Some of my friends and family don't like to play Words with Friends with me anymore because they think I don't play fairly (maybe one too many uses of "Qi," as mentioned above) – but Draw Something's helpful & cooperative nature always keeps the action friendly and positive.

It Never Ends

When you win a round of Draw Something you're given a quick congratulations (Drawsome!), and encouraged to draw again. When you lose a round, you're given a quick splash screen, then encouraged to… draw again. Games of Draw Something have no defined end point. You just pass drawings back and forth indefinitely. This is smart – it all-but ensures your number of active games and partners will just climb and climb.

Animated Viewing

Arguably Draw Something's most brilliant hook is that you aren't presented with your partner's finished drawing. Instead you see them recreate the drawing, stroke by stroke, in realtime. This accomplishes a bunch of very smart things to help make the app even more addictive. Most obviously, it's funny to watch your friends screw up drawing a coffin time after time before finally getting it right. It very nearly recreates that true Pictionary feeling of being right there in the room.

In addition, seeing the drawings also helps you learn. Watching someone come up with a smart and simple way to illustrate "doorstep" in turn helps you improve on your next round of drawing. For the especially artistically challenged, like me, it also helps overcome a reliance on stick men and women. Seeing these drawing animations helps you improve, and improving at anything feels good.

Simple Tools

Draw Something's extremely simple tools actually work in the game's favor. There is no lasso, no zoom… there isn't even a fill option. This helps gamers feel more directly connected with the sketch they're creating, and helps level the playing field. It ensures that the drawing tools themselves never get in the way. Even someone as artistically challenged as myself can fingerpaint a decent eggplant, and in Draw Something finger painting is essentially what you're doing. Additionally, although there are incredible things being done in Draw Something, the lack of even the most basic tools prevents the bar from being raised too high.

Why Draw Something Might Fade Quickly

Repeat Words

Draw Something's word pool is too small. Way too small. Anyone that consistently puts in time for even a few days will start seeing repeats. This breaks the game, plain and simple. And if you play as seriously as some Editors around the IGN office, by now most words are repeats. The frustrating thing is that blowing out the word pool should be a very easy fix. Yes, careful consideration must be given to ensure any words added will be fun to draw and guess, but the word pool doesn't just need to grow – it needs to explode. To keep the app's most ardent fans from moving on, Draw Something's word pool needs to be 5X its current size.

Buying Colors

It doesn't feel good to be asked to draw a tree only to discover you don't have brown or green paint. It's as simple as that. Draw Something already smartly monetizes beyond the initial $0.99 download by letting players pay to replace words or make guessing easier. Forcing players to also purchase colors feels excessive and engenders unnecessary negativity towards the entire experience. It's true that gamers expect a "metagame," even in something as casual as Draw Something - a way to grow and unlock rewards as they play. But locking away the very thing that makes the game fun is not the right path.

It Never Ends

The very same never-ending structure that made Draw Something brilliant to begin with might also lead to the app's downfall. With no graceful end point, it is easy for your piled-up drawings to begin to feel more like an obligation, rather than a pile of fun to dig into. Especially if the pile is full of repeat words.

There is no graceful way to extricate yourself from a Draw Something partnership you're no longer enjoying. Your only recourse is to simply ignore all your open games, or delete them. But then you're left feeling like a jerk, as you know the person on the other end is sitting with "their turn" displayed indefinitely on their screen. A simple "retire" option would be very welcome and would eliminate this social pressure. Perhaps with the option to send a parting picture.

Although free color packs are unlikely, more words and a more elegant option for bowing out will go a long way towards improving Draw Something's overall experience. Best of all, these are two easy changes for OMGPOP to implement. Fingers crossed the company (newly acquired by Zynga) is listening. I can't wait to sketch out Iron Man & pals later this spring.

Drawsome Gallery

Want to see just how deep the Draw Something rabbit hole goes? Check out IGN's Drawsome Gallery to see a collection of the best Draw Something sketches. The page is open to all, so if you have a masterpiece of your own, upload it!

Justin is Executive Editor of IGN Wireless. He has been reviewing cell phone games since the dark days of Java flip phones. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.